Basics, Improving

Chess is a great game to learn, it can provide a lifetime of fun and enjoyment. Some basics may help you get started. The file chess moves shows you how the pieces move. A good ready reckoner in case you forget!

FIDE is the organisation that controls and manages chess worldwide. For more detailed chess rules, please take a look at (20 pages) FIDE rules 2014.

Started playing, want to improve?

Once you have started playing, and know chess notation (how to read and write your moves), then Some Chess Opening Tricks are something to avoid/know!

This short beginner’s guide to chess may also be helpful; it gives a few good points for when starting out in chess, that covers basic techniques, planning your game, time management and how to survive a day of rapid chess.

I often get asked how to improve your chess playing ability? Well, apart from the 10,000 hour rule (if you want to be an expert at anything, then you need to put in that many hours! – see Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers), then a structured practice and training regime is also useful (sorry, no short cuts here). Pattern recognition and learning can also help.